Universal Runners Investigation: United Cases
by RunnerAwaker
Summary: Let's get online–with a new angle and story! Join Jordan's cousins Ocean and River Waters, as they embrace their own status as Runners and investigate and solve crimes in X Middle School as part of the Safety Patrol and in ULO as part of the Runner Investigation Division in this investigative packed spin-off of Universal Runners.
1. Plot and Characters

_A/N: Hey, folks! We weren't gonna release this until after The Other Side and the UR lead-in episode were done, but due to the extensive delays, we've moved it up to today to keep with our New Year's promises. Here is the Plot and Cast page for UR Investigations: United Cases. Like with UR, more cast will be added as the fic goes on. Enjoy!_

**Universal Runners Investigations: United Cases**

**Plot: **Ocean Waters, or O.C., is just an average 11-year old boy who is planning to move into a big city with his parents and his sisters. However, average is not actually his thing because he's got a special ability since birth: he can piece together every info in his mind like a puzzle and creates a perfect scenario without any lies and mistakes!

Because of that, he unknowingly finds out that his cousins, Jordan and Bren, are part of world-traveling heroes called the Runners and helped them during the reunion with his cousins' friends. Due to seeing his skills and his ability in action, Tina Reyheart decided to let Ocean become a Runner and placed him in a special division called the Runner Investigation Division.

Thanks to that, he was able to move into the city like he dreamed to and was placed into another world's X Middle School along with his twin sister, River, to work with the school's safety patrol for real world cases.

But when his first case might be connected with a mysterious crime going on right now, he needs to team up with X Middle School's best safety patrol officers, Cornelius Fillmore and Ingrid Third and along with his sister and partner for the ride, he needs to connect the cases together before it's too late.

**Main Characters (X Middle School Saftey Patrol):**

**Ocean "O.C." Waters:** The 11 year-old protagonist cousin of Jordan Waters and Brenton Revie and the new student and safety patrol member of X Middle School and head investigator of the Runner Investigation Division. Smart, witty, and determined, Ocean dreams of becoming a detective like his father, which explains why he has no objections on his sudden and forced joining into the Safety Patrol. However, he's very serious when it comes to being a safety patrol and a RID Runner, often determined at finding the truth behind the heinous crimes. He has an ability called "Scenario Puzzle", which he can stores any information he hear or see into his head in the form of "puzzle cards", which it can combined together to make a new information, which is his main weapon in solving cases in both School and ULO.

**River Waters: **The 11-year old twin sister and partner of Ocean. A level-headed girl, she is always down-to-earth, but serious to some things, and a little rebellious in others. Also, despite not having the same ability as her brother, she always guesses what is he up to, such as him being a Runner. Because of that, she also became one and also a Safety Patrol member.

As the profiler of the Safety Patrol, she can able to use her drawing skills to determine the culprit's appearance. But with her drawings are manga-style, she usually leaves Ocean the rest to determine the true appearance of the culprit. Also, like her brother, she's a gamer, which she plays ULO to keep in touch with her cousins. Because of that, she's a guide to the games and virtual worlds and gives her team some do's and don'ts so they can investigate without any worries.

**Cornelius Fillmore: **Safety Patrol officer and one of the Waters twins trainers. A former delinquent, Fillmore knows the ups-and-downs of the criminal underground which assists his ablility to solve cases. He is known for going above and beyond the standards of other Safety Patrol officers. He almost never loses a target even if it means destroying school property, which he happens to do a lot, much to the dismay of Jr. Commissioner Vallejo and in ULO, Riley Reyheart.

**Ingrid Third: **Safety Patrol officer, Fillmore's partner, and one of the Waters twins trainers. Like Fillmore, she is a former delinquent, who was once sent to a reform school. She is also a certified genius and the smartest kid in X Middle School, due to her photographic memory (which also allows her to bond with Ocean due to their similar abilities).

**Horatio Vallejo: **Junior commissioner of the Safety Patrol and the immediate superior of all officers. Vallejo is often put at odds against Fillmore, such as when he is forced to take Fillmore off a case even though he doesn't want to, or Fillmore is close to solving it. He also often scolds Fillmore for his reckless destruction of school property, which usually allows Fillmore to catch the criminal, but makes both him and the safety patrol look bad. The only thing that gets Vallejo more mad is when he sees how much it's going to cost to repair the damages, caused by Fillmore. All of these traits later carry on to his relationship with the Waters twins, whom he tries his best to ease into the Safety Patrol.

**Karen Tehama: **The Japanese-American crime scene investigator on the Safety Patrol who has expertise in forensics. She comes to admire Ocean and River for their teamwork in solving cases.

**Joseph Anza: **An Italian-American officer of the Safety Patrol who often does bodyguard work. Like his partner Tehama, he comes to admire Ocean and River for their teamwork in solving cases.

**Danny O'Farrell:** The Scottish-American crime scene photographer for the Safety Patrol, though it is often joked that he shouldn't be qualified to be a Safety Patroller by most. He has a tendency to get on other people's nerves and has some deep thoughts, overreacting, and weird ideas. Despite this, he has the talent of developing film whether with common household items or standard development items. He develops a crush on River when they first meet and tries to win her over, but she doesn't reciprocate and rejects his advances.

**X Middle School Supporting characters:**

**Principal Dawn S. Folsom: **The principal of X Middle School and the one who recruited Ocean into the Safety Patrol after seeing his record. She acts like a District Attorney or a mayor figure in regards to cases. She often threatens to turn the Safety Patrol office into something else (yoga studio, spa, etc.) if they are unable to solve the case. Tough on the outside with looks that can stop any student in its tracks, she runs her school with a strong presence - but she does it for pride and honor. She does have a kind heart on the inside and does much for her students and staff, sometimes anonymously.

**Vice Principal Raycliff: **The vice-principal of of X Middle School and Folsom's right-hand man. He does not really say much, but can be counted on to spout out school facts, figures and catchy metaphors at the drop of a hat.

_So there you have it! Check out the first part of URI's pilot episode on the next page. Read, review and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!_


	2. Ocean's First Wave: Part 1

_A/N: Well, here's the start of the Waters twins adventures. Don't worry, the lead in episode where Ocean and River were introduced first will come at a later date, after TOS is done. So without further ado...Let's Get Online!_

_**(Disclaimer: We don't own the characters appearing except Ocean and River Waters. They belong to their respective owners!)**_

_"What separates fiction from reality?_

_Fiction derives from impossible while reality faces the truth and limitations of our lives._

_But in a virtual world created for a game, it is possible to do both."_

_..._

_Well, that's what "she" said before this happens..._

_I only want to search the truth. But..._

_"She" made me think otherwise..._

A shadowed figure is walking in the dark hallway of some sort.

_Fiction is different from reality, but both of them have the same key in mind:_

_The Truth and the dark side of everyone in it._

The figure continues to walk as he hears a woman's voice speaking.

"Good morning, everyone," the woman said. "We have a new student here today. I have to tell you, he has a mind a sharp as a tack. Being the son and nephew of two police officers, he has the skills of being able to solve…"

_Universal Legends Online, a game where you can free yourself from limitations and stress, proved to be reality behind the fiction..._

_It became an MMORPG of secrets and because I unknowingly unlocked it..._

"In fact, because of this, I've decided to make him the newest member of our highly praised Safety Patrol."

_I became one of them and was sent here for an unknown reason._

_I don't believe at what "she" said at first..._

_But even before this happens, I believe in one thing about it..._

_"There are two sides of the same coin, which applies to all worlds."_

_Everyone has a dark side, I believe. Everyone has a motive._

_But with another verb set in mind:_

_"When there is darkness, there is light."_

_Darkness can be revealed at the dawn of light._

_And one small crime can lead to hurting everyone._

_Because of that, my goal is one thing straight:_

The figure then climb up the stairs to the light.

"So please welcome X Middle School's new addition to our school and hopefully our new safety patrol officer..."

_I will solve the dark puzzle..._

The figure then steps out of the darkness, revealing an 11 year old boy with black-blue spikey hair, wears a blue card logo jacket with an aqua hoodie vest and navy blue shirt underneath it, blue wristband, blue pants with a chain-like puzzle rope hanging behind him, and blue and white sneakers. He then gives a smile to the audience in front of him.

"Ocean Waters!"

_And solve the scenario in front of me!_

* * *

**Universal Runners Investigation: United Cases**

**Ocean's First Wave**

**Act I: First Waters, Big Chances**

Ocean then walked up to the microphone, and as he did, a plastic ball hit him in the head.

"Not yet, Jud," the woman, Principal Dawn S. Folsom, said to the student. Ocean approached the microphone and looked out to all the students gathered.

"Um, well, as she said, I'm Ocean Waters," he said. "And I have to say, I'm happy to be here at X Middle School. And I'm especially delighted to be part of the Safety Patrol here. I see this as a step to going into law enforcement, like my father and uncle before me. I look forward to making some new friends here and having a great year."

The audience all applauded as Ocean stepped back.

"Now before we'll go to Patrol Induction Ceremony, we better get to the main part of this program," Folsom said, causing Ocean to become confused.

"E-Excuse me? What 'main part of the program'?,"

"Well, you know how everyone likes picking on the new kid when they come?"

"Uh…sort of," Ocean said, uncertain.

"Well here at X we have a tradition of 'Ceremonial Hazing.' The students will be allowed to pummel you with now-harmful plastic for 120 seconds, to let any harshness out of their system. But don't worry the balls are Styrofoam, so they won't hurt. And it starts right…now."

Folsom then stepped back and the students hurled the balls at Ocean, most of them hitting him in the face. When it was done the microphone was placed in front of him.

"Well, that was kinda weird," he said as he went back to his seat on stage and sat down.

* * *

After a few hours, Ocean is now walking at the hallways as he rubs his face in pain.

"How weird is this school's tradition? This is worse than my sisters' 'riddle games'! he groaned in dismay as he pulled out some kind of note in his pocket. "Guess I should stop by before class and introduce myself."

He reads the note, which said that Ocean must visit the Safety Patrol Office when he get the chance along with its directions.

_Narration: My name is Ocean Waters. If you haven't guess already, I'm the son of Blaine Waters, brother of Ricky Waters who is actually the father of... You guess it, Jordan Waters._

The scene cuts to the silhouettes of six kids.

_My cousin, Jordan Waters is kind of what you said, an anime, cartoon, and video game freak. But I found out that she's a Runner, a youth that run through the world. Namely, a physical manifestation of her avatar in her favorite game, Universal Legends Online. She's also the member of the group of Runners called Universal Runners, famous for not only bringing the best Black and White Union players, but also famous for their heroic actions around the world._

The three silhouettes reveal Jordan in her Runner form with her friends, Itzal and Zeus.

_She is the famous __**-Quest Queen- **__in the game, while her friends, Itzal Kurosawa and Zeus Starr, are respectively the vigilant PKer, __**-Dark Reaper-**__,and the PVP champion, __**-Twilight Star-**__._

The rest of the silhouettes then reveal Bren, Calla, and Kani in their Runner forms.

_My other cousin, Bren Revie is also a Runner, or S-Runner as she puts in along with her best friend, Calla Gale and her cousin, Kani Kimura. Their Runner identities were supposed to be secret, so they can protect those they love from the evil cult they called "Black Tundra". Well, secret until my "special ability" unfortunately let me find out about it..._

The scene cuts to the scenes involving the events of Ocean finding out that said secret and helping the Runners.

_When I did, I helped them bring down the Tundra's plans to target our family members during a reunion. After that, the Runners boss, Ms. Tina Reyheart was so impressed with my abilities and bravery, she decided to make me a Runner in the special Runner Investigations Division, a division of Runners who solve cases in the ULO world._

The scene cuts back to Ocean now arrived at the door of the Safety Patrol Office (and Glee Club Annex).

_So here I am. Enrolling a school in another world. It's a little stange having to go to school in another world. Lucky for me, I was not alone here. Well, lucky because she wants to._

Seeing the door, Ocean then takes a deep breath and opens it, when a voice rang out.

"HOLD IT!," it cried as someone slapped Ocean in the back, causing him to fall to the floor. When he recovered, he saw a black-blue long haired girl wearing a shirt with a vest, a short denim skirt with a red fanny pack, and blue and red sneakers with white short socks.

"River?!," he said in surprise.

"Don't even try giving the "Why are you here?" bit to me, O.C.! You know why I'm here!," the girl said angrily.

**River Waters: Ocean Waters's Twin Sister/New Student**

"I know. But why are you following me to this office?!"

"Don't play dumb, O.C.! I know what you are doing, you're here to make a first impression to the safety patrol officers! Even if I don't have that "skill" like yours, I always know what you're up to. You're always so obvious at things."

_That's River Waters, my twin sister. She wasn't planned to be a Runner like me, but thanks to her attitude and her "one step behind me" persona, she forced herself to become one to Ms. Tina Reyheart. I'm not worried, since she got an attitude like my cousin, Bren. Only she's not too show-offy as him, but kind of level-headed, though._

"Don't tell me, you're planning to join as a safety patrol officer too," Ocean sighed."

"Geez, thank you for the correct answer," River said. "Yes I am gonna join. Besides, I have a feeling they don't have available partners for you and because of that, I'm joining in as your new partner."

"I don't know if you can do that, Riv. Besides, you..."

"I need skills? How using about my drawing skills for profiling any delinquent. Sure, my drawings are mostly manga-style, but that's why your ability to solve crimes helps put everything together, right?

"Yeah, but…"

"Come on O.C. We've done everything together, since I came into the world three minutes and forty-two seconds after you did. We made a great team in helping bringing the Black Tundra down. And this will be a piece of cake. So, what do you say…bro?"

Ocean thought for a second, before smiling and sighing, "Why do you always have the most convincing things to say in these situations?"

"I guess that's _my_ gift," River said with her own smile. "Let's go in!"

* * *

Inside the Safety Patrol Headquarters, they saw the interior of it in awe.

"Wow, reminds me of a police station," Ocean said as he observed the room.

"Almost like a kiddie version of a precinct," River added in.

"FILLMORE!," a voice shouted.

"What's all the hollerin' for, Vallejo?," another voice replied. The twins jumped back, startled at the first voice as they saw a bald African-American boy, about 12 years old, with glasses, a green shirt, navy blue pants and white sneakers with red stripes on them.

**Cornelius C. Fillmore: Safety Patrol Officer**

_That there's Cornelius Fillmore. One half of the school's best SP duo. He used to be a big-time delinquent and troublemaker, until one officer set him straight and convinced him to join the Safety Patrol. Since then, he's become one of the best and brightest officers ever…though he often ticks his superiors of by causing damage to the school when catching crooks._

Fillmore walked up to where the first voice came from, followed by a Asian/Caucasian girl with short black hair with a curled fringe, green eyes, pale skin, wearing a black dress and black boots.

**Ingrid Third: Safety Patrol Officer**

_And that's Ingrid Third. Like Fillmore, she's a former delinquent. Fillmore, however, saw that she just need a friend to lean on and wound up becoming that friend when helped her clear her name in a stinkbomb incident. They've since become best friends and partners. She's also the smartest kid in the entire school, due to her photographic memory, which has helped in many cases as well._

"I just got a notification from the school band about 24 broken instruments: 10 trombones, 8 trumpets, 5 drums, and a tuba?!," the a boy with flattop head, light blue shirt, dark blue tie, grey pants and brown loafers, known as Vallejo snapped angrily.

"Hey Vallejo, that was mostly Omar's doing when I chased him through the band room. You know these guys will do anything to get away," Fillmore replied

**Horatio Vallejo: Safety Patrol Junior Commissioner**

"Yeah and I also know you will do anything to stop them. Folsom's really breathing down my neck about this one."

"Can someone tell us what's goin' on in here?," River asked, confused. Then an Italian-American boy in brown jacket and a Japanese-American girl in pink shirt and black ballet shoes approaches the twins.

"That's Fillmore," the boy said. "One of the best of the best here. Though he has a habit for breaking school property while trying to catch the bad guy. Vallejo _always_ jumps on his back about it."

"Ouch...," Ocean cringed.

"Anyways, you must be the new kid. I'm Anza. Joseph Anza"

**Joseph Anza: Safety Patrol Officer**

"And I'm Karen Tehama. Nice to see another new kid has join the force," the girl added.

**Karen Tehama: Safety Patrol Officer/Forensics**

"I'm Ocean Waters, but you can call me O.C. if you like. And this is my sister, River," Ocean introduced himself and River.

"Hi. So what do you guys do in here anyway?," River asked.

"Well I'm mostly a bodyguard/protection kind of guy," Anza said.

"And I'm a specialist in forensics," Tehama added.

"Forensics? This Safety Patrol has a forensics investigator?," River asked, surprised.

"Yeah, the perps here often leave of clues for us to find. Our training in forensic is basic and amateurish compared to the real police, but it's still pretty effective."

"Cool!," the twins said together. Suddenly, a white bright light flashes onto River's eyes, nearly blinding her.

"Who's the jerk with the flash?!," River said annoyed as she rubbed her eyes. An orange-haired boy wearing a green polo shirt, blue pants, and brown shoes holding a camera hanging on his neck approaches them.

"Sorry about that. Danny O'Farrell, crime scene photographer," he said as he shook Ocean's hand, but when he moved to shake River's, he stared at her and apparently became lovestruck.

**Danny O'Farrell: Safety Patrol Officer/Crime Scene Photographer**

"Hello? O'Farrell? Anyone home?," Anza called as he waved hands in front of O'Farrell's face.

"Oh, sorry. Danny O'Farrell, crime scene photographer," O'Farrell snapping out of his trance as he shook River's hand.

"You already said that," River said.

"And might I also say, you are…beautiful," he replied in a sly voice.

Anza and Tehama "oohed" as Ocean raised an eyebrow.

"Um, thanks," River said, perplexed at the flattery.

"Well, if your commissioner is done screaming, I need to speak with him," Ocean spoke up.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the room, Vallejo was still dressing down Fillmore.

"That's over $7000 in damages you've caused this month alone!," Vallejo shouted.

"Look Vallejo, I'm a Safety Patroller. It's my duty to catch these guys. Sure things may get worn and torn, but that's part of the risk you take doing this job,"

"Well nonetheless, the school budget doesn't have a special spot for cleaning up after your recklessness! So could you please try to be more considerate of the equipment in this school for a change?!. As Folsom would put it, it doesn't come cheap."

"I'll try. But knowing me, there's no guarantees."

After that, Vallejo turned around to see Ocean at the door.

"Oh, didn't notice you're here. Sorry about that, but welcome to the force, kid," Vallejo said.

"Uh, thanks. You must be Jr. Commissioner Vallejo, right?," Ocean said.

"You got it. But are you sure you want to join on your first day?," Vallejo said.

"Yeah. No offense or anything, but you're being made to become an officer without even being asked if you wanted. Not to mention, you're the new kid."

"It's okay, I'm cool with it," Ocean said. "Besides, I want to find some sort of police-related extracurricular anyhow. And don't worry, just because I'm new doesn't mean I'm a beginner."

"Well, if I remember your file information correctly, you're the son and nephew of two police officers, correct?," Ingrid said.

"Yep. My dad is a detective, famous in the departments he's worked in because of his investigating and mind tactics on the field. And my uncle is a decorated police officer in Los Angeles, He was a police officer in New York until he transferred after getting a promotion. But my dad is my main inspiration in joining the law enforcement world. He taught me everything I know about investigations and terminology starting when I was young. He's even told me stories about his cases and let me visit a scene in person."

"Hang on. You visited an actual crime scene?," Fillmore asked.

"Just to see what the police do at them, that's all."

"Wow. So have you seen stuff like–?," Ingrid started to ask.

"Dead bodies, blood, guts, weapons…yeah."

"Hardcore, man," Anza said, surprised.

"Yeah. And fast fact: those things helped me be able to stomach horror films," Ocean said.

"Well, here's your sash and your badge, Waters," Vallejo said as he gave Ocean a orange sash and Safety Patrol badge. "As for your partner, well..."

"I'll be his partner!," River interjected.

"Huh? Who are–?"

"My twin sister, River," Ocean introduced her.

"Yeah, and I'm looking to join up as well," she said.

"Now hang on there, toots," Vallejo said. "You don't just barge in and–"

"Hey, I came in with him, flattop!," River snapped. "And don't call me 'toots' again."

"River!," Ocean scolded his sister as he told Vallejo. "Sorry, she has a 'one step behind you' attitude."

"Yeah sorry, I have a bit of a rebel in me," River said sheepishly.

"Come on, Vallejo, give her a chance. I got a good feeling about her," Tehama said.

"We could use the new help, especially due to our recent short staffing in these last two months," Ingrid added.

Vallejo looked at the looks of all the safety patrollers, and then sighed as he said, "Okay, but what can you contribute?"

Without a word, River pulls out her sketchbook, her pencil, and an eraser on the desk.

"Give me any detail of a person or a location and I'll figure it out," she said.

"Okay, an 11 year old Caucasian boy...with blue eyes…a wide nose…narrow cheek bones, and brunette hair," Fillmore described. River scribbled down all the details as good as she could.

"Got it. So what do you think?," River said as she finished and showed the drawing to the others.

Vallejo observed River's drawing for a moment before saying, "It's a little animated-looking..."

"It's manga-style," Ocean corrected him.

"Right. But, she might have the skills of a profiler. Problem is your drawings are kinda...a little manga-ish."

"I know. I'm still working on making my drawings more realistic. That's why I need my brother to figure out the details from my drawings," River said.

"Yeah," Ocean confirmed. "She draws the pictures of people or places and during the investigation, I try to match them with the faces of the suspects when I put the criminal scenario together."

"Put it together?," Ingrid asked, confused.

"Long story," River said.

"But basically we work very well together. So if you want me, then my sister comes along with the deal," Ocean told Vallejo.

The Junior Commissioner thought for a second, then handed River her own sash and badge as he said, "Well, okay. But only if she promises she'll keep work on improving her sketching."

"Sure, no prob," River said.

"Welcome to the X Middle School Safety Patrol, guys," Fillmore said as he shook both twins' hands. At that moment, a brunette-haired boy suddenly rushed into the Headquarters in panic.

"Someone help! I've been robbed!," he said in a panic.

Everyone sees the boy and Vallejo attempts to calm him down.

"Kid, kid! Just calm down and tell us what happened," Vallejo said, trying to calm the boy down.

"T-T-The profits from X Middle School annual bake sale... have been stolen!," the boy said as he continued panicking.

"Oh-no, not the bake sale! That's our school's third biggest fundraiser!," Vallejo said.

"I know! This year's take was nearly $6000!"

"Dawg. Those are some serious Benjamins," Fillmore said astonished.

"If that money isn't found and turned in soon, Principal Folsom's gonna kill me!," The boy said as he started hyperventilating.

"I know how to calm him down," River said quickly whacks the boy on the head, which stopped him.

"River...," Ocean groaned in annoyance.

"What?," River said. "It works on you when you panic."

* * *

At the crime scene, the booth in the cafeteria, the Safety Patrol was investigating.

"So what do we got, people?," Vallejo asked his officers.

"Kid says he left the briefcase with the profits at the table near the counter, while he called the bake sale committee to inform them that he was turning the money in. When he turned around again, the briefcase was open and the money was gone," Fillmore said.

"Well I'm not seeing any evidence to photograph," O'Farrell said.

"And I can't find anything around here either. No prints, no hairs, no fibers, no nothing," Tehama said.

"Well, this has got to be the cleanest non-violent crime scene I've ever seen," River quipped.

"Yeah, maybe I can join-," Ocean started to say.

"No way, kid," Vallejo cut him off as he stopped him. "You're new to the force, and I know you said you're not a beginner in the law enforcement world, but the best for you to do is watch and learn how things are done here."

"But...but...," Ocean said in dismay.

"Man, that's harsh. Having all that confidence for the field after an unexpected invite, only to be forced to sit on the bench," Fillmore said, look from afar.

"Well, maybe Vallejo has doubts about his personality," Ingrid pointed out. "Being witty and quippy isn't exactly a safety patroller's persona. Plus his attitude isn't as serious as we'd expect."

"Yeah, well look at O'Farrell. I like this new kid. Maybe if he just had the chance to prove himself, he could really make an impact."

"Maybe, Fillmore. Maybe. And how did he get invited to the Safety Patrol so fast any way?"

"Guess Folsom was so impressed with his family's law enforcement background, she decided to recruit him as soon as possible."

"Possibly."

Back with the twins, River put a hand on her somewhat depressed brother's shoulder.

"Sorry, bro…," she said.

"I-It's okay...," Ocean said, depressed.

"Well, is it okay if I ask the boy about what happened?," River asked Vallejo.

"Sure, but please don't hit him again," he said. River then approached the boy.

"Well, you said you called the bake sale committee. What's your name and connection to them?"

"I'm Ernie Taub and I'm one of the committee and in charge of this year's bake sale's profits," the boy introduced himself.

**Ernie Taub: Bake Sale Committee Member**

"Are you sure nothing strange has happened except the missing profits, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Well, where did you put the money?

Ernie: First in a red envelope, and then I put the envelope inside this special briefcase, that's supposed to be as sturdy as any safe.

"Come again?," River asked, confused.

"He must be talking about the Lock-4000 model security briefcase. It's purchased only at Halls Department Store," Ingrid told her.

"How did you-"

"Photographic memory."

"I see. Reminds me of one of our cousins' friends," Ocean said.

"Anyways, this is the case right here, with the lock and everything," Ernie said as he showed the briefcase. "But the only people who knows the codes are only me and the rest of the committee."

"And nobody else outside of them knows the code, right?," Fillmore asked.

"No, it's been a closely guarded secret. The bake sales make a lot of money each year, and we created this so that no crooks or thugs would try to steal it."

"Well, it's not like someone on the inside could have stolen it, right?," O'Farrell asked. Hearing this, Ocean quickly froze in place with his eyes widened. Fillmore noticed this.

"Yo, O.C.! Are you okay?," he asked, with no reply. "Dude, say something!"

"We better get him to the infirmary, or maybe call 911," Ingrid suggested.

"No, he's okay. He's about to use his special ability," River assured them.

"Special ability?," Fillmore asked, confused.

"The ability that allows him to put together the pieces of a case, the same ability our dad has. And don't say it's impossible. Because for him, it's possible."

As River continued to speak with the others, in Ocean's mind, five cards start to slowly appear in front of him.

"_Our dad's success as a detective was that he could put the pieces of evidence together like puzzle and recreate the scenario of the crime. And right now, O.C. inherited that skill. What he was doing right now is that cards are now appearing in his mind, created from information he heard or saw."_

"_Cards? Like poker cards?," O'Farrell asked as River sketched something on her sketchbook._

"_Not exactly, they look like trading cards from TCGs, only they look like this," she said as she showed a sketch of a card with a puzzle icon on the back. "It's called a __**-Puzzle Card-**__. They are used to combine each other to create new information for O.C. When all the pieces are in place, a scenario will be played out in his mind."_

"_Scenario? You mean like a recreation?," asked Anza._

"_Of the crime?," Tehama added._

"_Yep. That's his main ability," River said._

Then the cards, the **-Safety Lock Briefcase Code- **and **-Code Knew by the Bake Sale Committee Members Only-**, combined each other, creating a flash of white light in Ocean's mind.

"_That's the truth behind his invitation. This is Ocean's true skill: __**-Scenario Puzzle-**__."_

_**THIS IS IT!**_

"Guys, I think I already got our suspects," Ocean declared.

"Already?! But how, there's-," Vallejo started to say.

"No clues? I doubt it," Ocean said, determined. "The first clue we've found is Ernie's testimony. You said only the committee members know the passcode of the safety lock on the briefcase, right? Plus you were the only one in the cafeteria during the robbery, correct?"

"Yes. Why?," Ernie said.

"I've been waiting to say my dad's lines. But let's enter the scenario, shall we?," Ocean said as he began to imagine the cafeteria scenario earlier. "Since Ernie was alone at that time, and since our classes start at 25 minutes before he came to us, I'll bet the robbery occurred after my introduction back in the auditorium. You didn't go to my introduction earlier, did you Ernie?

"Unfortunately, no. I was busy with getting the profits ready for the turn-in."

"So, what you're saying, O.C., is that the time of the robbery was during your introduction and induction ceremony?," Fillmore said.

"Exactly," Ocean said.

"That makes sense. Since pretty much all of the students participated in that Ceremonial Hazing thing, which I still can't get it over from my own," Ingrid said.

"I feel your pain, Ingrid. Anyways, as for the crime, I'm guessing the culprit knew the Safety Patrol and their reputation very well, so they wore gloves and somehow covered up their shoe soles, so as not to leave any handprints or footprints we could take as clues, which would also explain why the scene is so clean."

"So, what are you saying, O.C.?," Anza asked.

"If my suspicions are correct, the main suspects of this crime are the bake sale committee members themselves!"

"And you figured that all out just now?!," Vallejo asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure River just told you all about my ability, right?"

"Yeah, just did," Fillmore said with admiration. "It sounds real cool."

"Thanks. Well, as I said the people we should question are the committee members," Ocean suggested. "They're the only ones who know the combo to the lock."

"Can you give us the names of the other members?," Ingrid asked Ernie.

"Sure. Anything to help and get that money back," he said.

As Ernie starts to write the list of the members, Ocean noticed something at the counter.

"But there's something missing in here," Ingrid started to realize. "If the culprit managed to steal the money without being seen, how did they slip out of this cafeteria unnoticed? The doors in here usually squeak loud enough to wake the dead."

"Actually, I didn't hear anything when the profits got stolen."

"So then how did the culprit sneak in and out in the first place?," Fillmore asked. River, however noticed her brother is checking behind the counter.

"Ocean, what are you doing?," she said as she approached him.

"Investigating," Ocean said as he searched around the counter. He stopped when he saw a nearby door. "Vallejo, behind these doors is the cafeteria kitchen, right?"

"Yeah, but nobody uses this entrance except some student volunteers and school clubs."

Ocean then opens and shuts the doors, at which he notices…

"Huh? There's very little squeaking with these doors."

"Yeah, not enough sound like the entrances," River agreed with wonder.

"And do the cafeteria ladies and others lock this door when they're done, right?"

"Yeah, they just locked that door before the ceremony," Ernie said.

But when he pushed the door, Ocean discovered not only that was open, but he also accidentally hit something behind it.

"Oops! My bad," he said. He then noticed a small oilcan and a piece of ripped, wooly fabric on the floor and after putting on gloves he picked them both up. "Hello, what's this? An oil can and a piece ripped fabric?"

He then looked up in front of him. He then gasped in shock at what he saw.

"Uh, guys! You might wanna check this out!"

Everyone joined up with Ocean and, like him, was quickly shocked at what they saw.

"Aw, snap," Fillmore said in astonishment.

On the wall they saw words written in red graffiti saying, **"goodbye X! we have NOW the keys TO OUR RICHES! DUMB SAFETY PATROL DORKS!"**

Everyone stared mortified as Ocean, Fillmore, River, and Ingrid looked on with serious expressions.

_A/N: Whoa, who is this mystery vandal? Could it be connected to this case? And why was Ocean inducted in the Safety Patrol on his first day? Find out the answers next time! Read, review, follow and have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!_


	3. Ocean's First Wave: Part 2

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this folks, we were busy with other fics. So now we're picking up where we left off, with Ocean, River, and the rest of the Safety Patrol coming across some incriminating graffiti. Let's see what happens next, right now!_

**Universal Runners Investigations: United Cases**

**Ocean's First Wave**

**Act II: Pacific or Specific?**

Back at Safety Patrol HQ, Folsom, having heard about the profits and vandalism, was chewing out Vallejo in front of everyone.

"First, our school's bake sale money is swiped, and now school property has been defaced! You better tell me you have some progress in this case!," she snapped.

"Just some minor progress," Vallejo said. "A few small shreds of evidence, which are currently being looked at as we speak."

"Well, you better turn this minor progress in to major progress and fast. Because so help me, if the thief and vandal is not caught by tomorrow, the Safety Patrol HQ will make a great teachers-only sauna!"

Folsom then stormed out of the HQ, as Vallejo turned to Ocean and said, "Kid, you better keep using your head for this case."

"Already convinced after seeing my **-Scenario Puzzle-**?," Ocean asked.

"A little, yes. But we have little to no evidence or clues right now, so I need that puzzle ability thing of yours to crack this case and recover the bake sale profits. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Ocean replied as he saluted in a serious manner. As Vallejo turned and left, Fillmore and Ingrid approach the twins with the latter holding a piece of paper.

"O.C., this case might be pretty difficult for you even with your special brain power of yours," Fillmore said with concern. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"As long as a certain twin of mine is there to back me up," Ocean said to his sister.

"You know I'll always be by your side, bro," River replied.

Ocean smiled, and then noticed the paper Ingrid is holding.

"Is that the list of Ernie's fellow committee members?," he asked.

"Yeah. And about the oil can you found, Tehama found no fingerprints, just like the crime scene and the graffiti area and she's currently searching what kind of oil right now, along with that ripped fabric you found, too," Ingrid detailed.

"Well, while she does that we best go have a chat with the other committee members," River suggested.

"I know where their room is. Let's jet," Fillmore said.

As they head to the bake sale committee room, Fillmore and Ingrid are more curious about Ocean.

"So O.C., I heard from your sis that your dad also has that brain power, right?," Fillmore asked.

"Yeah, it's his secret behind his successful cases. He first used it to solve an old cold case a couple years ago," Ocean said.

"Well this puzzle power of yours, you don't use it in everyday life do you?," Ingrid asked with worry. "Because from what I've seen, it takes a lot of brain activity to use it, and too much stimulation on the brain could be…unhealthy, you know."

"I know that. My dad and I already aware about not using it everyday except we're working on the case," Ocean said. "He taught me that with any great superpower you can think of, there is great responsibility. Once, some people actually created devices that has features like the **-Scenario Puzzle- **and tried use them for their own sinister plans. That's why he's kept it a secret from everyone except with the police department he's working with after he stopped those people."

"Yeah, just like Ocean just did now with you and the other Safety Patrolers," River said.

"Also, there's some cons to my ability, too," Ocean continued. If I attempt to combine Puzzle Cards with information that doesn't add up, make sense, or is unrelated, the ability's **-Scenario Life- **will go down a little. If it goes down to zero, I will get a really big headache and become disoriented, and sometimes even pass out, which will forced me to rest and I won't be able to use the **-Scenario Puzzle-** for a while.

As Ocean said this, he imagined some Puzzle Cards attempt to fuse with each other but bounce off each other instead, as if it failed to fuse and some kind of Fleur-de-lis-shaped meter goes down slightly. He then imagines the meter goes down to zero.

"So you can't put them together all willy-nilly," Fillmore asked.

"Yep. One time, our sisters, who love to make him play these "riddle-games", made him play four-in-a-row in one day. The game is they take something valuable of his, hide it, and leave behind a bunch of clues, both real and fake, to make him try to find it. That time they took a new Gunpla model he'd just finished. They often make it hard to tell which clues are fake and which are real, and they nearly exhausted him and his ability. Luckily, our dad made them stop and got O.C. back to his room to rest."

"Ouch," Ingrid said with sympathy. "Are your sisters mean?"

"No, not really, they're just really amazed at my ability and like to play games with it," Ocean replied. "Even though it causes a real headache for me. But I usually bounce back soon enough."

"It's more of a friendly rivalry,' River added.

"Sounds like me and my sister," Ingrid said with a small smile.

* * *

Inside the bake sale committee room, the officers noticed a boy and three girls chatting amongst themselves with plates of leftover bake sale food with them. The four approached the members.

"Hey, guys! Guess who's here!, the boy said to his fellow members.

"Oh, Officers Fillmore and Third, We're so glad that you're on the case for our missing money," said one of the girls, who then pointed to Ocean and River. "But who are those two?"

"I'm Ocean Waters and this is my twin sister and partner, River," Ocean said as he showed his badge as River does the same with hers. "We're new officers and this is our case too."

"Oh, Ocean! I remember, I hit you on the nose back at the Ceremonial Hazing earlier," the boy said. "I'm actually a pitcher for the baseball team."

"That explains it," Ocean, said, rubbing his nose in annoyance before asking in a serious tone. "Anyways, we're going to ask each of you some questions about the theft, so we can check your alibis. Do you have time for it?"

"Don't worry, we're free," the boy said. "I'm Lucas Daniel, by the way. Lead salesman of the committee."

**Lucas Daniel: Bake Sale Committee Member**

"I'm Pepper Ayton, head baker of the committee," said the first girl.

**Pepper Ayton: Bake Sale Committee Member**

"I'm Kady Cooke, the head of the bake sale committee," said the second girl.

**Kady Cooke: Head of the Bake Sale Committee**

"And I'm Sydney Cooke, Kady's sister and secondary baker," said the third girl.

**Sydney Cooke: Bake Sale Committe Member/Kady's Younger Sister**

"Well onto our alibis," Lucas said. "As I said, I was at the Ceremonial Hazing at the time."

"I was in the library, doing some last minute studying before a quiz," Pepper said. "Check with Mr. Lendrum."

"Syd and me were at my locker, putting my books away," Kady told the officers.

"My sister has a lot of books to carry, considering she's in four honors classes," Sydney added.

"Well do any of you recall seeing anyone acting suspicious in the halls at the time?," Ingrid asked.

"No, not that I recall," Pepper replied, shaking her head no.

"I didn't see anyone," said Kady.

"Me neither," Sydney said.

"Sorry," Lucas said, shaking his head.

"Well if you can recall anything, give us a shout out," Fillmore said, handing them each a card.

"We will. You guys just focus on finding that money."

"Oh, trust me, we are," Ocean said with assurance.

* * *

After they were done questioning the committee members, the four officers were now discussing about the case at the hallways.

"So we can cross Lucas off our suspect list, since he was at the hazing," River said.

"Which leaves us Pepper and the Cookes," Ingrid said. "Let's check their alibi's out."

Then, Fillmore's walkie-talkie rang up with Tehama's voice.

"_Hey, Fillmore_," Tehama said over the walkie-talkie.

"Got something, Tehama?," Fillmore said answering his walkie-talkie.

"_Yeah, the oil is a lubricating one, one that's often used to stop doors from squeaking. As for the fabric, it seems to be part of a sweater. Our thief must have gotten it caught on something when they made their escape._"

Just then, Ocean realized something, " Of course, I know how the thief escaped from the cafeteria without making any noise!"

Suddenly in Ocean's mind, the puzzle cards, **-Culprit's Mysterious and Silent Escape Route- **and **-Low Squeaking Kitchen Door- **combined each other, creating a flash of white light in Ocean's mind.

_**THIS IS IT!**_

"Maybe the thief used the lubricating oil to stop the squeaking sound of the kitchen door, so they could escape through it without the squeaking noise blowing their cover. I'm guessing they lubricated the door hinges during the ceremony, too."

"Wait, during the crime? But that would mean Ernie should have seen the culprit then. Plus, why can't the thief lubricate the cafeteria doors instead?," River asked.

"Just like you said, sis. The thief didn't want to be seen by him. I'm guessing they chose the door to the kitchen because there were counters blocking them view, and since Ernie was sitting in front of it a little far away, it would've been practically impossible to see the thief by then. Also, this also all but confirms that one of the committee members is the culprit."

Back in Ocean's mind, another two puzzle cards, **-Unlocked Kitchen Door- **and **-Kitchen Only Accessed by Cafeteria Lady, School Volunteers, and Cooking-related School Clubs- **combined each other like the last two, creating a flash of white light in Ocean's mind once again.

_**THIS IS IT!**_

"Ingrid, when was the last time the kitchen's door got closed before the robbery?," Ocean asked Ingrid.

"On the door's electronic log, it said, 8:56 AM, today," Ingrid answered.

"So my theory right now is that one of the bake sale committee members got the keys to the kitchen and used it as their escape route. And they did that while wearing gloves too, to avoid leaving fingerprints on the doorknob, and the keys, too, so fingerprint analysis can't help right now. But I can confirm one thing is that one of the committee members is the crook behind this bake sale profit theft."

"Well, we have three suspects now. We should get to HQ, tell Vallejo what we found and then check out the girls' alibis," Fillmore said.

But just as they were about to head back to HQ, Ocean noticed a suspicious hooded person holding some kind of spray can.

"What the-?," Ocean said in confusion. He then realized when he saw red paint dripping down from the can's nozzle.

"Hey you, freeze! Safety Patrol!," he shouted, flashing his badge. The hooded person turned to see Ocean and his friends. "I suggest you give us the spray can and-"

Before he can finish, the hooded person quickly throws an object from his pocket, hitting Ocean in the face and causing him to stumble and fall in the process, before running off.

"What was that?!," River exclaimed as she ran over to her brother.

"Dawg, what did you do that for?," Fillmore asked

"That guy's got a spray can with red paint dripping from it," Ocean said as he recovered. "He's the one who vandalized the kitchen walls!"

"Let's move!,"

The four Safety Patrollers dash after the hooded person, running through the halls, past students and around objects.

The hooded person then grabbed another student's skateboard and began riding it, picking up speed and getting farther away from the quartet. Fillmore, however, realized were they all where and where the hooded person was headed.

"He's heading towards the auditorium!," he said as he noticed a side hall coming up. "Girls, split up! Cut him off on the other side."

Ingrid and River charged down the side hall, while Fillmore and Ocean continued after the suspect down the main hall. The hooded person continued to skate and reached the auditorium entrance area, and started to skate down the still-going hall.

But then, Ingrid and River jumped in front of him, the latter of whom carried a volleyball she'd swiped. With that, River kicked the ball at the hooded person, hitting him in the leg, causing him to tumble off the board and onto the ground, where Ocean and Fillmore grabbed him at last.

"Good shot, Riv," Ocean complimented.

"Thank you very much," River replied.

"Okay, time to see who our mystery guy is," Ocean said as he removed the hood to reveal a boy in blue beanie.

"Hey, he's not one of the committee members!," River exclaimed, surprised and angry. "We just caught some random punk!"

"Doubt it. Think this kid might tell us about the can of spray paint he's got there?," Fillmore said.

As my dad always says, 'Sometimes even seemingly unrelated evidence can lead us closer to the truth'," Ocean said. "And he might tell us something about that graffiti back at the cafeteria kitchen."

* * *

Back at Safety Patrol Headquarters, Ocean, River, and Vallejo waited in the room behind the interrogation room, glancing through the one-way window at them interrogating the suspect.

"Wow, this place even has an interrogation room? It really is almost like a police station," Ocean said impressed.

"Well, we need all the resources we can get to solve this school's crimes," Vallejo told him. After a few minutes, Fillmore and Ingrid came out of the interrogation room to join with Ocean, River, and Vallejo. "So?"

"Nothing. He's too stubborn to say anything," Fillmore replied.

"We've been in there for almost two hours and he won't say anything about the vandalism or the robbery," Ingrid said.

"Maybe I can take a crack out of him. My dad's taught me some of his interrogation skills," Ocean requested.

"I dunno," Vallejo said. "You're still new here, kid. I'm not sure if…"

"Hey, I've already made an impact on this case by piecing some key evidence together. I think I can handle a simple punk kid like him."

"I'll go too. We can do the old good cop-bad cop thing, see if he'll crack," River asked.

Vallejo sighed as he said, "Well…okay. But don't do anything drastic."

Then, Fillmore and Ingrid came back in with the twins as Ocean approaches the boy in a serious expression.

"I suggest you stop beating around the bush and talk," he said.

"Or what?," the boy said in an arrogant, defiant tone.

"Let's just say detention will be the least of your worries."

"Am I supposed to be scared or something?"

"You ought to be," Ocean said as he picks up the boy's file and reads it. "So, Joey Griffin. Got a rap sheet about 3 quarters of a mile long, including multiple incidences of tagging."

**Joey Griffin: Delinquent/Tagger**

"What's it to you, piggy?!," Joey asked in an angry tone.

"Should I kick this guy's butt for being annoying?," River asked.

"Do that and you might get suspended on your first day," Fillmore said. "Folsom has a zero-tolerance policy on fighting."

"Great... At this rate, we may never solve this case until graduation."

"Don't be so sure, Riv. I think this guy needs a little push," Ocean said.

"Like bribery?"

"No," Ocean replied as he stared with a weird manner at River. "What we need is that we have to show him something."

He then took the spray paint can and set it on the table.

"What were you doing with this spray paint, and were you near the kitchen with it today? "

"The graffiti? Yeah, I heard about that. Must have been a random tagger. You know, someone who likes vandalizing some lockers or bathrooms with graffiti or markers. And about this spray paint can, I just found it," Joey replied with a casual tone.

"Where did you 'find' the can?," Ingrid asked.

"What, seriously?! Come on, I only found it near the door. Someone must have dropped it. Probably the tagger that wrote something like **"So long, suckers! Safety Patrol sucks!"** or something.

"Is that all you know?," Fillmore said.

"Yeah, baldy. Of course."

_And if I mean someone, I meant the tagger that wrote something like __**"So long, suckers! Safety Patrol sucks!"**__ or something._

_**THINK AGAIN!**_

"Hey, what's with you all of the sudden?!," Joey asked Ocean, startled by his sudden outburst.

"Sorry, that's what my dad said whenever he finds a contradiction,"

"Contradiction?"

"That means something didn't fit into the crime's puzzle, like what you said just now!

"Huh?!"

"Can you please cut to the chase before this turns into a crazy contradiction party like in that one video game, please?!," River asked, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry," Ocean said with a blush as he pulls out a picture of the graffiti and puts it on the table to show their suspect, and said in a serious tone, "This was taken at the crime scene and unfortunately, even if it's something, what you just told us doesn't fit the graffiti tag."

Ingrid took a closer look before she said, "You're right. I remember what it said: **"goodbye X! we have NOW the keys TO OUR RICHES! DUMB SAFETY PATROL DORKS!"**

"And you said that it said, **"So long, suckers! Safety Patrol sucks!"**, Fillmore said to Joey. "Something tells me you just lied to us because you're hiding something aren't you?

"Hide is right. Remember what he said in the graffiti: **"we have NOW the keys TO OUR RICHES!"** I have a feeling he didn't tag it randomly," Ocean said.

"Yeah, remember what happened back at the hallways when you confronted him?," River asked.

* * *

_But just as they were about to head back to HQ, Ocean noticed a suspicious hooded person holding some kind of spray can._

"_What the-?," Ocean said in confusion. He then realized when he saw red paint dripping down from the can's nozzle. _

"_Hey you, freeze! Safety Patrol!," he shouted, flashing his badge. The hooded person turned to see Ocean and his friends. "I suggest you give us the spray can and-"_

_Before he can finish, the hooded person quickly throws an object from his pocket, hitting Ocean in the face and causing him to stumble and fall in the process, before running off._

* * *

After the flashback, Ocean realizes that she's right as he pulls out something from his pocket, which is some kind of baseball.

"Yeah, and this is the one that hit my nose the second time, unfortunately. Plus, it was signed by Derek Jeter," Ocean said. annoyed.

"The famous baseball shortstop who played 20 seasons for the New York Yankees and a five-time World Series champion," Fillmore said as he remembered something. "He stopped by X last week at our school's last baseball game as a special guest by Folsom. Some of the players got him to sign some of their baseball stuff."

"And an autographed ball like this from a guy like him must be very valuable," River added.

"So valuable anyone would do anything to have it from themselves,"

"I suggest you either fess up, or you're going to detention with cafeteria duty! For an entire month," Ocean growled in a serious voice.

Shocked at the threat, Joey froze in panic, which in Ocean's mind, he imagines the negative colored barrier around the suspect quickly breaks like glass.

"Okay, I'll talk, but please, don't make me do cafeteria duty! I can't stand the hairnets or the B.O. of those lunch ladies, man!," Joey cried.

"Good, so what's with the graffiti, tagger boy?," River said, angrily.

"I stole that baseball from Lucas Daniel's locker earlier, I admit it," Joey confessed. "I was so jealous about him getting that baseball autographed by Mr. Jeter, that I stole it to keep for myself! And in order to get you officers off of my back, I tagged the kitchen to keep you distracted! But..."

"But what?"

"After I finished tagging, I heard someone coming. I thought it could be one of the cafeteria ladies, so I ducked behind the baking counter. But I only saw someone coming in and out of the kitchen door and while trying to get out of the kitchen through the other door, they accidentally leaned onto my still-wet tag. I never saw their face though. And after they left, I also left the kitchen so nobody can get me. That's all, no lies this time!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that it, that's the crop, I swear!," Joey said as he then smiled. "And by the way, you're kinda cute when you're angry."

River, still glaring, grabbed Joey by the shirt, and snarled, "Don't get any ideas."

* * *

Later, in the school hallways, the quartet of officers was searching for Lucas.

"I can't believe that kid is just a baseball thief and that graffiti is nothing but a unrelated tag," River said.

"Don't worry, sis. It's not a Red Herring, it gave us a clue to the thief," Ocean reassured her. "Our suspect could be running around the school with that red paint stain and not know it."

"But maybe they might've noticed it, and changed clothes at some point," Ingrid said.

"Plus, we didn't see any of the bake sale committee with red stains on their shirts," Fillmore added in.

"We might not figure that out it now, but we will soon. Until then, we better return this baseball to Lucas," Ocean said.

"Oh no, it's gone! My special baseball is gone!," Lucas's voice yelled panicked.

"And looks like we're just in time."

When they got to the locker, they saw Lucas frantically searched his locker for his baseball as Sydney and Kady looked on.

"His Derek Jeter autographed baseball is gone. It's like, the most valuable thing in the universe to him," Sydney told the officers.

"He's my favorite player in the world. The baseball is one-of-a-kind proof for me having that once-in-a-lifetime encounter with him," Lucas said frantically.

"Uh, Lucas. About your baseball...," Ocean said as he showed it to him. "We got it. Joey Griffin stole it from your locker earlier, but we managed to grab him during our investigation."

Lucas, overjoyed, took it back from Ocean, saying, "Oh, thank you, thank you so much! I thought I'd lost this forever!"

"Well, at least this turned out to be a happy ending," Kady said, glad that her friend had his ball back. She then turned and opened her locker, but as she did, a red envelope fell out. Everyone looked and saw that envelope said "BAKE SALE TAKE."

"Hey that's the envelope we had the bake sale money in!," Lucas said.

"What?!," Kady gasped in shock. Fillmore picked it up and discovered…

"The money's not here," Fillmore said. Everyone looked at Kady accusingly.

"Sis?," Sydney asked her sister, uncertain of what to say. Kady could only look back at them in shock and dismay.

_A/N: Whoa! Could Katy really be the thief? Or is there something more sneaky going on here? Stay tuned for the final part, coming soon, to find out!_


	4. Ocean's First Wave: Part 3

_A/N: Last time, the Safety Patrol's investigation turned from a dead end to a possible end when Kady, the head of the bake sale committee, was found to have the empty envelope that the money was in, in her locker. Is it case closed or is there more to this story? Find out on the case's conclusion, right now!_

**Universal Runners Investigations: United Cases**

**Ocean's First Wave**

**Act III: The Mystery is History**

Back at Safety Patrol HQ, Kady was being held in the interrogation room being questioned by Fillmore and Ingrid. The others were outside waiting.

"Man, Kady Cooke? Never would have guessed," Anza said in awe.

"I know. But that's the thing about these cases: sometimes it's the last person you'd ever expect," Vallejo said.

Fillmore and Ingrid exited the interrogation room.

"She sticking to her claims that she didn't steal the money and doesn't know how the envelope got in there," Fillmore informed everyone.

"But all we can tell is that right now everything points right to her," Ingrid added.

"No. Kady's not the thief," Ocean said with determination.

"Hey, what makes you so sure that she's not?," O'Farrell asked.

"Even though we found the envelope in her locker, my **-Scenario Puzzle- **isn't pinging about it and the puzzle for this case is still incomplete."

"But the envelope was in her locker, and she knew the combo to the suitcase lock…," Vallejo pointed out.

All of which is circumstantial and could have be planted or arranged to look like she did."

"Look Waters, we got her dead to rights. This case is over and–," Vallejo said, starting to get annoyed.

"**THE CASE IS NOT OVER! KADY'S NOT THE THIEF AND I'M GOING TO PROVE IT!**,**" **Ocean snapped angrily.

"Okay, that's it, Waters! I-"

"WILL YOU QUIT IT?!"

Everyone turns around to see River is also angry.

"If you berate or suspend him, he will do something reckless and whatever you do to stop him will not work," River told them. "Because...he's the same with our Dad when he's dealing framed suspects."

"What do you mean the same?," Tehama asked.

"Well it's a long story…"

"Which we'd all like to hear," Ingrid said.

"While we were little kids my dad's police partner and our mom were framed for orchestrating a major robbery at the jewelry store where my mom worked. Part of it was that our mom, who had been working late, let my dad's partner in after hours to pick up a necklace he'd bought for his girlfriend. She left shortly afterward, and just an hour later, the place was robbed. Since she and Dad's partner were the last people in the store, they were considered the prime suspects. Dad became very angry with this, and he worked on solving who the real robbers were non-stop. He even tried using his ability to solve everything he can and even when he reach his limit on how many mistakes he could make, he kept going. But when he finally exhausted his limit, O.C. stepped in and tried piecing everything together, and exhausted his limit too. By that time, Dad had finally recovered, and after finding O.C. about to pass out, O.C. was able to tell him the true scenario and thief. After that, my Dad caught the criminal who framed our mom and his partner, who as it turned out was a jealous ex-co-worker, who'd been fired for being rude to fellow employees and customers. But as he was being arrest, the crook swore revenge, saying: **"One day I will find you and everything you love and care about, I will destroy!"**

"Dawg..." Fillmore said, shocked at the story

"That's right. Ever since then, my Dad worked hard both on his cases and his ability to ready himself in case the criminal who framed Mom and his partner were return," And also since then, O.C. has always vowed to keep any case going when things don't fully add up against a suspect, no matter how it may seem to others. He's even gone as far as to ignore warnings and punishments from superiors and peers to do this.

"Wow, that's deep," O'Farrell commented.

"Exactly. Which is why I'm not stopping until I solve this puzzle and find out the true thief," Ocean said.

"Wow, I haven't seen this much dedication to our kind of work since you, Fillmore," Vallejo said.

"Me neither," Fillmore said. Suddenly, Folsom burst into the office with VP Raycliff, looking worried.

"Where is she? Is she here?," Folsom said. "You guys had better not have done anything to cause her emotional distress."

"Relax, Principal Folsom, she's fine," Ingrid said with some assurance.

"I heard you found the money stashed in her locker."

"Just the envelope it was kept in. Money's still unaccounted for," Fillmore said.

"Meaning she probably stashed it elsewhere, or like Ocean said, someone's framing her," Anza pointed out.

"Well, I certainly hope for the latter," Folsom said. "Kady Cooke is one of our best and brightest."

"Straight As, an achiever in many clubs, a cheerleader and student council Vice President for 6th and 7th grade," Raycliff detailed her profile.

"One of the biggest staples this school has. I refuse to believe that she would do something as heinous as this. And I want you to cover every inch of this case until you can't cover anymore."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I, for one, intend to do just that," Ocean said.

"Well good, because if you guys fail to find the true thief, this Safety Patrol office would make a good storage room for our textbook shipments! Get the picture?!"

With that, Folsom and Raycliff left the HQ, leaving the officers stunned.

"Does she always make threats like that?," River asked Fillmore.

"You'll get used to it," Vallejo replied.

* * *

Later on, the quartet returned to Kady's locker to look for more clues. They were stunned to see Lucas back there too.

"Oh, hey officers," he greeted them. "What are you doing back here?"

"Trying to clear Kady's name," Ocean answered.

"Hope you do. I don't believe for a second that Kady would do such a thing."

"Neither do we. And what are you doing here?," Ingrid asked.

"Well, after that jerk Griffin stole my baseball, I had to go get a new combo lock from the office. If that guy has my combo he could changed the lock on me, then he would have been able to get to my stuff at anytime, while I couldn't.'

Hearing this, Ocean realizes something.

"What's the matter?," Ingrid asked.

"I might not have photographic memory like you do, Ingrid. But I do remember something," Ocean said.

Suddenly in Ocean's mind, the puzzle cards, **-Kady's Former Locker Combination: 42- **and **-Kady's Sudden Locker Combination Change: 20-**,combined each other, creating a flash of white light in Ocean's mind.

_**THIS IS IT!**_

After checking on his ability, Ocean approached Kady's locker, which it had a great big glittery poster of pop star Justin Timberlake on it.

"What is it, O.C.?," River asked

"I remember, as I was going to my introduction earlier, I noticed Kady's locker with the lock set at the number 42. It was hard to miss with this poster on it. But when we came here to give Lucas his ball back, I noticed that the last combo number on the lock was 20."

"Are you saying that she changed the combo earlier that day?," Fillmore asked.

"Not the combo, but the locks themselves. If I'm correct, someone switched them after putting that envelope in her locker. That means..."

"Kady _was_ framed," Ingrid said in realization.

"Exactly. And that's the reason why is my scenario is still incomplete. The other scene of the crime is this very locker!"

"But the question is how can we prove it?," River asked.

"The main office always assigns lockers and locks to new students," Fillmore said. "Maybe if you could see which numbers are Kady's and whose are the thief's…"

"We'll know who the thief is! Excellent, I'll head the main office!"

"And we'll head back to the kitchen," Ingrid said as she clicked her walkie-talkie. "Tehama, meet us back the school kitchen in five."

* * *

Later, in the kitchen, the three officers were investigating at the graffiti with Tehama.

"Judging from the smudge on the grafitti, I'm guessing that a small person could have leaned in here," Tehama analyzed.

"Since you figure it's a small person, I'm guessing that the thief must have their whole shirt stained, along with the hip area of their pants," River theorized.

"Well, they probably got a change of clothes or something," Fillmore pointed out. "It'd be too suspicious to just wonder around with fresh red spray paint on your clothes like that."

"Right, so if we find the clothes, we find the thief. But who's he smallest on the committee?," Ingrid said.

River thought for a moment before she realized...

"Sydney! She's the smallest, she's a locker neighbor with Kady…"

"And she knew the combination to open the suitcase. Disco!," Fillmore said in realization, before turning to River. "We gotta tell your brother."

"Speaking of which, where's O.C.?," Tehama as she looked around for him.

"At the main office. Let's go find him," River said as the officers left the kitchen.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the main office, Ocean was looking through the records of the locker and lock assignments of the students. Finally, he came across Kady Cooke's.

"4-32-20," Ocean read the lock combination. "So the lock from when we found the envelope was her lock. So whoever has the last number of 42 is the thief."

He then coincidentally pulls out Sydney's file and looks at the locker code.

"17-0-… **42**! Oh my-"

At the same time, the rest of his friends joined him in the office.

"O.C.! You never guess what we found!," River said.

"I was about to say the same thing, but since you said it first, what do you got?," Ocean said.

"According to Tehama, a small person leaned on that the freshly sprayed graffiti at the time the profits are stolen," Ingrid said.

"I'm guessing we're going to find out once we get to the culinary arts classroom, where the committee is. And maybe on the way, we might able to solve this case once and for all."

"Then let's get to it!," River said. With that, the quartet left the office for a final confrontation with the thief.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the culinary arts classroom, the other committee members were meeting with Kady.

"I don't believe for one second that you stole that money, Kady," Ernie said.

"Me too," Pepper added.

"Me three," Lucas threw in.

"And us four," Fillmore said as the Safety Patrol officers entered the room.

"Officers!," Kady exclaimed with slight worry.

"Don't worry Kady, we're not here for you," Ingrid said. "We know you didn't steal the bake sale money."

"But it seems one of the committee members did," River said.

"What?!," Kady gasped with shocked. "Wow, I guess some friends really can't be trusted."

"Yeah, unfortunately Kady, in this case, I'm afraid family members aren't to be trusted either," Ocean said as he then said in a serious tone. "Sydney, you need to come with us right now."

"Come again?," Sydney said with surprise.

"Nobody knows the lock combo of the briefcase except the committee members and Sydney happens to be in fact one of them," River pointed out.

"Wait, my own little sister–the thief?!," Kady gasped in shock. "No way! I don't believe you!"

"Yeah, that's impossible!," Sydney protested.

"Oh really?," Fillmore said as he showed them the lock combination records. "We figured the only way that anyone could've planted the envelope in your locker was if someone pulled a double switch on your lock."

"Your last combo number is 20. But for to Sydney lock, it's 42. Ergo, this is the last combo number of Sydney's lock," Ingrid said. "Which Ocean noticed when he passed by that locker twice today!"

Sydney, getting angry at the accusations, snapped, "Ergo your butt! I didn't steal anything! I was at the lockers all this time with my big sis during the theft!"

"Really? Wouldn't that be the perfect position to be in when you carried out your plan?," Ocean asked.

"Ugh! Why are you so stubborn?! Look, our lockers aren't that far away from the cafeteria! If I was the thief, wouldn't Ernie have seen me duck out through the cafeteria doors?, huh?! And wouldn't he have heard the doors squeak?!"

_If I was the thief, wouldn't Ernie have_ _**seen me duck out through the cafeteria doors?, huh?! **__And __**wouldn't he have heard the doors squeak?!**_

_**THINK AGAIN!**_

"Huh?!," Sydney asked, shocked at Ocean's outburst.

Just then, Folsom peaked in the room and said angrily, "Waters, may I remind you there is no shouting in the hallways?! It's giving me a headache."

She then ducked out again as Ocean continued, "Sorry for shouting, ma'am. But for you, Sydney, I'm afraid there is no sorry because you just made a very big mistake!"

Sydney, now even more shocked, asked, "WHAT?!"

"First off, the thief didn't use the cafeteria doors, but the kitchen doors to escape. Second, you just gave yourself away by telling me about the squeaking doors, which I didn't even mention!"

Sydney became shocked as she realized that Ocean now had her right what he wanted her.

"True, the squeaking kitchen doors normally would've given away the thief's location. But the thief lubricated the hinges of the kitchen doors to escape, while using the counters as cover from Ernie's view. And that same someone had to have known about the squeaking doors in the first place!"

"Come on. Those squeaking doors are no secret! Just about everybody knows about them," Sydney pointed out.

"So, you think that I'm lying?"

In his mind, Ocean waves his arm to line his current puzzle cards in front of him.

"**Then it's time to see how this all went down.**"

With those words, the cards then combined each other, re-creating the whole cafeteria scene around him in his mind.

* * *

_Flashback/Scenario:_

"_During my introduction and the Patrol Induction Ceremony earlier, Ernie stopped by the cafeteria to call to the other committee members, but not before leaving the briefcase on the counter._"

**In the kitchen, Ernie set the case on the counter before using the phone to call the other committee members.**

"_With Ernie ignoring the briefcase due being on the phone, you made your move and used the combination to unlock the case and steal the envelope with the money inside it. And to prevent leaving clues and evidence, you wore gloves on and booties so as to not leave foot or fingerprints_."

**Erine is still on the phone with the other committee members when a shadowed figure grabs the briefcase behind the counter, opens it and takes the envelope with the money.**

"_Then, fearing that the squeaking sound of the door will give away you location, you lubricated the door hinges before making your escape. And since the counter was blocking you from where Ernie was standing, he couldn't see you."_

**After that, the figure returns the briefcase to its original place, lubricates the kitchen door's hinges with oil, and then ducks through the door.**

"_After stealing the money, you figured you could get away clean. However, you unknowingly left some clues for us to follow as you escaped. Your sweater got caught on something, and in pulling yourself free, you ripped your sweater, leaving behind a piece of its fabric, and smeared it on some recently sprayed graffiti, courtesy of Joey Griffin."_

**With that, the figure then sprints to the exit of the kitchen, only for their sweater to get caught by a meat fork. They try to pull it off, but pull too hard and end up ripping the sweater and backing into and smearing it on Joey's recently sprayed graffiti.**

"_But before you did all that, you offered Kady to help with her textbooks, and as you did, you quickly and discreetly switched her lock with your own."_

**However, before the crime, the thief sees Kady at the lockers and offered to help her, leaving it unknown to her that the thief has their own agenda.**

"_And when the deed was done, you opened your sister's locker with your own lock, planted the empty envelope and switched the locks back. So when she opened the locker, you made sure we found it and successfully framed her as your scapegoat."_

**Then after stealing the money, the thief returns to Kady's locker, opens it with their own lock, plants the empty envelope, and then switches the locks back to normal, before leaving.**

**After the scenario, Ocean then confronts the shadowed figure in a black area of his mind, revealing to be...**

"**Is that your true crime, **_**Sydney Cooke?,**_**"** **Ocean says in a serious tone as he points at the culprit.**

**As he says this, the negative colored barrier in front of Sydney quickly breaks down when a mysterious force shoots it down, causing her to scream in terror.**

* * *

After she's done screaming as Ocean went back to reality, everyone is shocked at this revelation.

"It was you, Syd?," Lucas gasped.

"How could you do something like this?," Pepper asked, stunned.

"My own sister…framed me?!," Kady asked, absolutely shocked, as she asked Sydney, "Why, Syd? Why?"

"I'm telling you, you've got it wrong," Sydney said, still refusing to confess.

"Actually, we've got enough to prove it right," River said. "We have a witness, what you just told us, and we had some officers search your locker and they found this."

She then holds up a sweater with a spot torn and red paint stains, and pants with red paint stains as well. Everyone gasped

"It seems you noticed that the spray paint from the graffiti was on you and you didn't want to attract attention, so you changed your clothes, and stashed the stained ones in the locker."

"And they also found the money in a small jar in your locker too." Ingrid pointed out. "All $6000. We got far more than enough evidence to absolutely prove that you're the thief."

"It's over, Sydney," Fillmore said. "Now, like Ocean said, you need to come with us."

Sydney, realizing she'd been nailed, changed her demeanor to angry and rebellious.

"No…it's not over…not by a **LONG SHOT!**," she snapped as she threw some papers from the desk in the four officer's faces. With that, she ran off to escape.

"Go, go, go!," Fillmore shouted as the quartet of officers run after her.

Sydney ran through the halls of the school with the four officers on her tail. She saw some men wheeling a paper maché sculpture on a cart, and knocked the sculpture over as she ran past. The four officers simply jumped over it and kept going.

Sydney then burst out one of the schools entrances and continued to run down to the softball field, with the SPs still after her. She saw a pitching machine and ran to it, quickly fired it up, and shot baseballs at the safety patrollers, who quickly ducked for cover.

"What do we do?," River asked.

Fillmore saw a rock the size of the baseballs. He quickly picked it up and threw it at the machine, clogging the spout. The machine began to overload, and Sydney noticing this, ran from it just as it blew up, scattering baseballs everywhere. One rolled near River, who saw Sydney trying to make an escape again. She quickly picked it up and threw it at Sydney's foot. Sydney, trying to run, slipped on it and fell to the ground. The four patrollers quickly grabbed her as the rest of the bake sale committee caught up with them.

"I said it once and I'll say it again: Nice shot, Riv," Ocean complimented his sister.

"No problem-o," River said with a wink at her brother.

"You don't understand! This wasn't about the money!," Sydney said desperately.

"Then what made you steal it and frame your sister in the process?," Ocean asked.

Sydney sighed in defeat as she said, "Because of the pressure, the pressure of my sister's reputation that caused me to do of all this!"

"What do you mean?," Kady said

"You've been one of the best students this school has ever seen: Straight As, queen of nearly all of the clubs, co-head cheerleader and Student Council Vice President. But me, I'm a more reserved person, with a B &amp; C average, and not all that big on social matters. But ever since I started here, everyone's been expecting and pressuring me to be just like you and live up to your reputation. I mean, every time I'd just have a little chatter with my classmates during class, my teacher would say that they never had that kind of trouble from you, and I should care to follow in your example. And every time I'd get a B or C on an assignment, my teachers would tell me that you got an A when you had that same assignment, and I should really look at myself and take a page out. And those clubs, the members are always hounding me everywhere I go, trying to get me to join and do stuff I have no interest in, just because you're in them, or were in them. Everyone wants me to be just like you, when I just want to pave my own path through school, and I'm sick of it!"

Kady, stunned and somewhat saddened at her sister's confession, asked, "Wow. Well, why didn't you tell me this?"

"I tried to, lots of times. But every time I tried, you would cut me off while talking on and on about you were planning this or how you had accomplished that. You never let me have a word in."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Sorry to say this Kady, but you do have a habit of doing that," Lucas said.

"Yeah, we often have to yell at you to get your attention again," Pepper agreed

"Oh, wow. I-I didn't know," Kady gasped in realization.

"I see. So you figured if Kady's reputation got dragged through the mud, everyone would stop pressuring you and comparing you to her and you'd be free to follow your own path through school," Fillmore said, figuring out the motive.

"Exactly. I stuck out with the pressure for as long as I could. But I just couldn't take it anymore!," Sydney said as she started to tear up. "I just wanted to live my own life!"

Sydney then broke down crying over the fact of betraying her sister. Kady, realizing Sydney needed her, place her hand on her shoulder.

"Syd, I'm so sorry," she said. "I guess I was just so caught up in my own web, I couldn't see how much it was affecting you. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"You're…not mad?," Sydney, still crying, looked up at her sister.

"No. And I forgive you, for everything. And I'm sorry for being so self-absorbed and insensitive."

"It's okay. I forgive you too," Sydney as she gave a small smile. The two sisters then hugged in forgiveness.

As everyone watched this heartwarming moment, River approaches to her brother.

"O.C., you were forced into joining the Safety Patrol on your first day. If they learn about Dad and his achievements, you might end up like Sydney," she informed him.

"Nah, it doesn't bother me, I want to be like Dad anyway," Ocean said as he turned back to Kady and Sydney. "But pressure is one of the plagues that can shift even the most honest of us towards a life of bad choices and crime. If Kady and everyone else had listened to Sydney's wishes in the first place, none of this would've happened. With the pros pressure gives us, there are also always cons to them."

"Such as making someone want to escape it so much that they'd do or be tempted to do anything, even something bad or hurtful to get away from it all," River added.

"And that's why we're here: to help them choose the right path as they try to deal with the pressure," Fillmore said as he approached the twins.

"And make sure their choices make a good impact on themselves and others," Ingrid added as everyone looked on at the sisters' hug.

* * *

Later, the officers were back in HQ as Kady and the bake sale committee sans Sydney, enter.

"Hey, guys," Kady said. "Thanks again for helping us recover this year's profits."

"To be honest, you have to thank Ocean here. Without him, we couldn't have cracked the case as fast we did," Fillmore pointed out.

"So what's happened with your sister?," Ocean asked Kady.

"I managed to convince Principal Folsom to let her give Sydney a light punishment," Kady said. "She's getting three weeks detention and 80 hours of community service to be served after school and on weekends. But she's not upset about it. Because I promised to her that I will be a better sister to her from now on.

"Well, I'm happy to see you guys are patching things up," Ocean said.

"Yeah. Truth be told, I hate seeing brothers and sisters fight," River agreed.

"Don't we all?," Ingrid asked with a grin.

"Well, I might not have any brothers and sisters like you guys, but I do get your drift," Fillmore said.

"Well, thank you all so much for all your help," Ernie said.

"And by the way, that kid who stole my baseball…," Lucas asked, remembering the incident.

"Joey Griffin? If you wanna know, for both the theft and the tagging, he's gonna be cleaning graffiti off school property everyday as part of his two-month detention sentence," Ingrid informed them.

"Good riddance. Last thing I want is him breaking into my locker," Pepper said.

"Well, we best get going. Thanks again," Kady said as the bake sale committee left.

"So O.C., I'm guessing you want to stick around with us a little more?," Fillmore asked Ocean.

"Are you kidding? Getting this safety patrol job is the first step to my detective dream. I wouldn't even think of leaving this place," Ocean said.

"And as long as you're here, I'm not leaving here, either!," River added.

Well it'll be a pleasure to have you both on the force. Vallejo said. The phone rang and Vallejo answered it. "Hello. Yes, Principal Folsom, and thanks, the Waters twins are really a big asset to the Safety Patrol, you were right. What?! A $1450 baseball pitching machine?!

"We better bounce out of here," Fillmore mentioned, knowing what was coming.

"Agreed," the others said as they sprinted out the door.

As they left the headquarters, they cover their ears as Vallejo shouted angrily, "FILLMORE!"

_So that's it. That's how my first day in X Middle School was. With my sister and the best officers helping me, I aim do my best to become the Safety Patrol's hope of solving difficult cases. However, this isn't the end of my beginning just yet._

* * *

Elsewhere, Universal Legends Online's login screen popped up on a computer screen as someone typed on it.

_Because it continues inside Unitas..._

As a mysterious force clicked the **-LOG IN- **button, a portal-like cutscene appeared to the readers.

_A/N: So there you have it: Case Closed! But this is only the first in many new adventures to come for the Waters twins. Also, see if you can tell from this last scene hint, where the next episode will take place?_

_So stay tuned and until the next time, read, follow, fave, and review!_


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